STATEN ISLAND. >> THE EYES OF THE TENNIS WORLD WILL BE ON QUEENS THE NEXT TWO WEEKS AS THE U.S. OPEN KICKS OFF TODAY IN FLUSHING MEADOWS-CORONA PARK. MORE THAN A MILLION SPECTATORS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE COURSE OF THE TOURNAMENT, WHICH AMOUNTS TO ABOUT 80,000 FANS A DAY. NO SURPRISE SECURITY WILL BE TIGHT. IT'S ALSO NO SURPRISE THAT OUR N.J. BURKETT IS AT THE TENNIS CENTER COVERING IT ALL FOR US. HI NJ. >> HEY TANYA, AM I A TENNIS FAN? ABSOLUTELY. AND CLEARLY I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE, YOU KNOW? SO ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER RECORD OPENING DAY HERE AT THE U.S. OPEN. AND THINK ABOUT THAT. 80,000 FANS FOR THE NYPD. IT'S LIKE A SUPER BOWL EVERY DAY FOR TWO WEEKS. ON THE DUSTY OUTSKIRTS OF THE NATIONAL TENNIS CENTER, THE NYPD ROBOT BOMB TECHNICIAN IS LONELY, WHICH IS A GOOD THING. AND THE BOMB SQUADS RAPID RESPONSE TEAM IS HOPING THEY'LL NEVER NEED TO STRAP ON THEIR 100 POUND SUITS TO INVESTIGATE A SUSPICIOUS PACKAGE. >> IT'S LOCATED IN NEW YORK CIT, BUT EYES ARE WORLDWIDE ON THIS EVENT. >> DEPUTY CHIEF JAMES KEHOE IS A COMMANDING OFFICER OF THE NYPD COUNTERTERRORISM DIVISION. >> THIS IS A PRIME TARGET. IT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST EVENTS THAT WE DO IN NEW YORK CITY ALL YEAR ROUND. AND IT LASTS FOR TWO WEEKS. SO IT'S NOT JUST A ONE DAY HIT. WELCOME TO THE U.S. OPEN. >> THE U.S. OPEN IS DRAWING RECORD CROWDS. TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FANS ARE POURING INTO THE NATIONAL TENNIS CENTER. AND AS THEY DO, THEY ARE BEING WATCHED AND SEARCHED. THERE ARE OFFICERS WITH DOGS, OFFICERS WITH HEAVY WEAPONS, AND OFFICERS ON HORSEBACK. THE ENTIRE GROUNDS ARE COVERED IN A BLANKET OF SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS AND MONITORED IN REAL TIME. AND THEY'RE PREPARED TO RESPOND TO PROTESTS LIKE LAST YEAR'S BIZARRE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTEST. WHEN DEMONSTRATORS GLUED THEMSELVES TO THE FLOOR INSIDE ARTHUR ASHE. >> THERE'S A DISRUPTION GOING ON IN THE STADIUM RIGHT NOW, DELAYING A MATCH WITH FAN FAVORITE COCO GAUFF DRIVING IN HERE AND SEEING THE AMOUNT OF POLICE OFFICERS OUR CAR GOT CHECKED, I FEEL COMPLETELY SAFE. >> FOR MANY FANS, SAFETY IS HARDLY A CONCERN WITH THE OPENING ROUND NOW UNDERWAY, THEY'RE FOCUSED ON THE TENNIS AND THE SCENE, THE EXCITEMENT. >> AS SOON AS YOU GET HERE, YOU CAN FEEL IT. AS SOON AS YOU WALK IN, IT'S PHENOMENAL. >> WE JUST WATCHED A MATCH WHERE WE DIDN'T KNOW EITHER PLAYER AND THEY WERE AMAZING. >> IT'S JUST FUN TO WATCH. YEAH, YEAH. JOHN SANDS HAS BEEN ATTENDING THE OPEN FOR MORE THAN A DECADE. >> THE FANS, THE NEW YORK FANS ARE, YOU KNOW, THE TOP OF THE TOP. THEY'RE JUST SO PASSIONATE ABOUT TENNIS. THEY'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT THEIR PLAYERS, THE U.S. PLAYERS. AND IT'S CONTAGIOUS HERE. THE ENERGY IS JUST FANTASTIC. >> AND THINK ABOUT THIS. THE U.S. OPEN GENERATES MORE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IN NEW YORK CITY IN TWO WEEKS THAN ALL OF NEW YORK CITY SPORTS TEAMS COMBINED. FOR THE ENTIRE